PROTEST BANNER REMOVED Authorities Remove 20-Foot Protest Banner Placed On Overpass
Reported by: Tiersa Davis
Web Producer: Jeff Morris
Reported: Nov. 19, 2012 3:57 PM EST
Updated: Nov. 19, 2012 4:59 PM EST
Athens County Sheriff's Department
Athens
, Athens County
, Ohio
Deputies removed a large protest banner that was placed on an overpass that they say could have caused an accident.
The 20-foot banner was draped over the side of the bypass leading to Strouds Run State Park and Peach Ridge Road, Athens County Sheriff Patrick Kelly said. The sign opposed fracking in Ohio, which is a process of removing natural gas from shale rock.
The sheriff's office said the banner was attached about 6 a.m. Monday to cinder blocks and had water jugs securing the bottom of the sign. The sheriff said deputies quickly removed the sign shortly before it was placed on the overpass. The sheriff's office said the banner was hung low enough that a semi-truck could have come in contact with it and potentially caused an accident.
Deputies said no one was present when they arrived on the scene.
Tiersa Davis
